Oct 16
Archive for October 16th, 2008
Oct 16
[HAPPY HOUR] BJ Upton: Invoking The Memory Of Eric Davis
BJ Upton, Desmond Jennings, Eric Davis, Evan Longoria, Sally Struthers, Sarah Palin, Scott Kazmir, Tim Lincecum 2 Comments »Just a few links to get you through the next couple of hours…Word is there is a light rain at Fenway, but no delay is expected…Anybody else getting that funny feeling that Scott Kazmir is going to pitch a gem tonight?
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- We will be back tonight with another edition of the Rays Index Live Blog-A-Baloo, ALCS-style.
- BJ Upton the next Eric Davis? Outs Per Swing looks at the similarity between the two and gets the opinion of several top baseball writers on the matter…Davis was one of the most exciting players we watched growing up and there are definitely similarities. But Davis got by on pure athleticism at a time when there weren’t a lot of great athletes in the game. Upton is actually a much better hitter but plays in a time when opposing teams have a better idea how to minimize the advantage of physically gifted players. Defensively, they are identical. [Outs Per Swing]
- Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post has a column today about the Rockies decision to pass on Evan Longoria with the 2nd pick of the ’06 draft…We touched on this previously when we learned that the Rays actually had a deal in place prior to the draft with Tim Lincecum. (Thanks Rumpy) [Denver Post]
- We love any and all references to Monty Python and we also love that Boston Dirt Dogs think “real fans” will show up at Fenway tonight…Actually, from the stories we have heard, there will be a significant presence of Rays fans in Fenway tonight. [Boston Dirt Dogs]
- The Guru prescribes cashmere for Scott Kazmir’s woes…Couldn’t hurt. [Her Rays]
- Sarah Palin panders to both Red Sox and Rays fans. [Bugs and Cranks]
- The Phillies are in need of support and they have turned to Sally Struthers. [Bugs and Cranks]
- Desmond Jennings saw his first action in the Arizona Fall League. [Tampa Bay Rays Prospects]
Oct 16
[BJ UPTON] Scoop Jackson Thinks BJ Upton Will Be A Hero To Inner-City Kids Because He Looks Ghetto And Doesn’t Hustle
BJ Upton, Scoop Jackson is an idiot 7 Comments »Before we give this ESPN column the toilet paper treatment, we should point out that the premise is spot-on. BJ Upton is the type of player that could bring young African-Americans back to baseball. But like many of Scoop Jackson’s columns, the execution was perfectly flawed.
As one of the central players in the Rays’ remarkable turnaround, Upton has elevated himself during these playoffs as the face and future of “urban” baseball. A face that has been slowly disappearing in the game…In Upton’s case, he has unknowingly become the one player that Torii Hunter and Joe Morgan have been looking to who can bring the game back to the hood in a way no other young black player in the game has been able to do.
Upton could very well be the “face and future of ‘urban’ baseball”, but it seems a little strange that Scoop needs to stereotype Upton into the role. While we don’t know the entire story of Upton’s upbringing, what we do know paints a picture of a typical middle-class upbringing, be it black, white, Latino or Asian. Upton’s father has been a basketball referee in the ACC for the past 15 years. Upton and his brother graduated from Greenbrier Christian Academy, a private Christian school in Chesapeake, Virginia. Nothing says “hood” like a private christian school. [Ed. note: This old ESPN column has more on Upton's upbringing (thanks Carey)]
He has put on display…the look of the game that resonates with those “young’ns” who have decided that basketball and football provide a brighter future…his style, his slight build, his mannerisms, his persona, his presence, his swag.
In other words, Scoop thinks Upton looks ghetto.
Maybe not on the same level, but with similar reverence, Upton might become to African-Americans in baseball what Dice-K has to Asian players or what Papi has to players in the Dominican Republic.
This is just a strange correlation: Nevermind that “Asians” turning to baseball because of Daisuke Matsuzaka is about as silly as saying young kids in Tampa will gravitate towards basketball because they feel a kinship to Canadian Steve Nash. But was there an absence of young Asian and Dominican baseball players before Matsuzaka and David Ortiz? Baseball has been the national pastimes in Japan and the Dominican since before either player was even born. And while both players are heroes in their native countries, there is no shortage of other players that Japanese and Dominican children worship.
The fact that Upton’s not perfect makes him perfect. His propensity to be lazy (as witnessed in August when he “decided” not to run hard on three different occasions), the fact that Maddon literally pulled him off the field after not running out a double-play ground ball, the meaningless error in the seventh inning of Game 4 that allowed questions about his lack of focus to surface. All display a flaw in him that almost works to his advantage when kids and wannabe baseball players look at him and say “I’m not perfect either, but look, he’s still standing.”
Fuck the heck!?! Could you imagine Scoop Jackson’s reaction if Peter Gammons had written that paragraph? Scoop Jackson just said Upton is a role-model to young African-Americans because he is lazy. Why in the world would anybody ever look to this as a positive quality. This is insanity! And it may be borderline sociopathic. Good lord Scoop. We don’t mean to yell, but did you eat paint chips when you were a kid? Of all the positive things Upton does on the baseball field that are worthy of emulating, Jackson picks laziness as why inner-city kids will gravitate to the Rays center fielder. Jesus, this pisses us off…and we’re white!
“He roamed well,” Maddon said after the out-of-nowhere 13-4 Game 4 victory that placed the Rays one win away from the World Series. “And we got to see his arm strength.” Meaning: In an unnecessary time in the game, Upton showed off his skills for the heck of it.
%@#$%!!!! Steam just came out of ears. Seriously. Actual steam just came out of our ears and the sound of a steam-whistle could be heard 10 blocks away. In baseball a team does not win the game until they record at least 27 outs. There is no clock, and in an ALCS game in Fenway Park, there is no such thing as an “unnecessary time” to try and throw out a baserunner. And to say that Upton was just “showing off” his arm is lunacy. Upton may be the only center fielder in baseball that could have made that throw from deep center field to first base on the fly in an attempt to double-up a baserunner. And the amazing thing is the play was actually close. Just when we thought Scoop couldn’t write anything dumber, he totally redeems himself.
He’s the role model, he’s the torchbearer, he’s the savior…Jackie Robinson should be proud.
Is Jackie Robinson the Elvis Presley of the African-American community? Did Scoop see Robinson in a Michigan Burger King recently? We thought Robinson passed away, so shouldn’t that say “would be proud” or do we need to throw a [sic] after “should”?
Upton’s emergence can help rewrite the game, preserving a part of a history on the verge of being lost.
We understand that the number of African-Americans in baseball is at the lowest percentage in 20 years, but we have a funny feeling baseball is not going to revert back to the pre-Jackie Robinson days. Hyperbole is apparently Scoop’s friend.
Again, we have zero problem with the issue at hand. If Upton can bring inner-city kids back to the game of baseball, we are all for it and certainly can see the potential. But for Scoop to stereotype Upton into that group just because he is black and for Scoop to paint African-American children as lazy and as more interested in showing off than of winning, is not only idiotic, it is borderline ignorant.
Then again, Scoop Jackson knows as much about the ghetto as Paris Hilton.
The true meaning of B.J. Upton [ESPN]
Oct 16
[THE HANGOVER] Grant Balfour One Of Most Dominating Relievers In History Of Baseball
Bud Selig, Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, Gabe Gross, Grant Balfour, Jason Varitek, Jim Hickey, Rocco Baldelli, Scott Kazmir, The Mad Australian, Tim Wakefield No Comments »
Click on above images to be taken to full standings, box scores or schedule…
How good was The Mad Australian this season? Grant Balfour put up some sick numbers this season. In 58.1 innings, Balfour allowed only 28 hits and 24 walks while striking out 82. He pitched to a 1.54 ERA. Certainly the best season by a relief pitcher in the short history of the Rays. But we wonder if there was a bigger context we could look at to see exactly how dominating he was this season.
We went to the “Play Index” at Baseball-Reference.com.
We did a search for every pitcher that has ever posted a season with at least 11 strike outs per 9 innings, while giving up less than 9 hits and walks combined per 9 innings with an ERA less than 1.70 (minimum 40 innings pitched). Three criteria for a dominating relief pitcher.
The results? The Mad Australian is just the 4th pitcher in the history of baseball to post such a dominating season out of the bullpen. The other three is a who’s who of dominating closer performances, including Eric Gagne (2003), Billy Wagner (1999) and Joe Nathan (2006). Gagne won the Cy Young Award in ’03, while Wagner finished 4th and Nathan finished 5th. The only difference between their seasons and Balfour’s was the number of saves. They each recorded at least 36 saves, while Balfour only had 4.
We knew Balfour had a strong season, but we had no idea that it was one of the best in the history of baseball.
DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…
- In case you missed it yesterday afternoon, we ran a bunch of “Webtopia” links in the evening “Happy Hour” feature. [Rays Index]
- Remember the Rays fan that ended up with the Evan Longoria home run ball above the Monster at Fenway in game 3? He was kind enough to answer a few questions about the incident. [Rays Index]
- Congratulations go out to Gabe Gross and his wife Kelly, who are expecting their first child in May. [Celebrity Baby Blog]
- Rocco Baldelli could get the start in right field tonight with Gabe Gross struggling…Also, Joe Maddon is not worried about the Red Sox history of comebacks noting that he would rather concentrate on executing their own gameplan. [St. Pete Times]
- Joe Smith says the key to Scott Kazmir is surviving the first inning. Smith points out that Kid K tends to settle down after long first innings and gains confidence as the game moves along. [St. Pete Times]
- The Phillies won the NLCS 3 games to 1…The Rays aren’t there yet, but it is worth noting that every time a Tampa Bay franchise wins a championship they beat a Philadelphia team on the way. [The Fightins]
- This is worth pointing out again. 18 “experts” at ESPN.com predicted the World Series matchup prior to the playoffs. 2 picked the Rays to win the ALCS. None picked the Phillies. If the Rays win the ALCS, that will be 2 correct picks out of 36. Wow. [ESPN]
- Bugs and Cranks found a picture of the reverse mohawks from Fenway. [Bugs and Cranks]
- John Romano says Jim Hickey deserves much of the credit for the Rays success and points out that he came very close to losing his job last winter. [St. Pete Times]
- More evidence that the Red Sox Nation isn’t as devoted as they would like you to believe. Tickets can be had for ALCS games in Fenway for below face value. [Boston Globe]
- Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post says the Red Sox are being betrayed by their age and are suddenly old news. The perfect metaphor for this series is the young, speedy Carl Crawford beating out an infield single with the old Tim Wakefield scrambling on the ground trying to throw out Crawford. [Washington Post]
- Wallace Matthews seems to think the Yankees paid for the Rays success…Bitter much? [Newsday]
- John Tomase of the Boston Herald points out that this incarnation of the Red Sox is much different than the teams that made postseason comebacks. [Boston Herald]
- Tonight could be the last game for Jason Varitek in a Red Sox uniform. [Boston Globe]
- Fire Brand of the American League points out 5 keys to the Red Sox winning game 5. [Fire Brand of the American League]
- Awful Announcing gets it. We will fully admit that a Rays-Phillies World Series would not be FOX TV’s first choice. Thankfully, there is not a single mention of how Bud Selig is rooting for the Red Sox and the Dodgers. We have already pointed out how ridiculous that sentiment is. [Awful Announcing]
- The Rays signed four 16-year old players during the international free agent signing period. Among the players signed is a switch-hitting catcher from Venezuela named “Narvaez”. Coincidence? [Tampa Bay Rays Prospects]
- Stay classy Pink Hat Nation…How Youz Doin Baseball? Did this blog get their name from a line in “Friends”? That’s hot. Oh, and the only other Colby Alum we know is the guy in the bottom of THIS picture. We don’t think we have ever seen somebody more afraid of a baseball that was no where near them. [How Youz Doin Baseball]
- We are not sure where this person did their research. It is yet another attempt at showing how the Rays roster was put together. Two problems. The list of players traded by the Rays is short about 6 names. And nobody in baseball is acquired for “FREE”. What does that even mean? The Rays traded Josh Butler, a former 2nd round pick, for Gabe Gross. And Chad Bradford was acquired for a player to be named later. The Rays will likely send a player to Baltimore once the season ends. Cheap? Yes. But not “FREE”. For the complete list, check here. [Beyond the Boxscore]
- Kevin Gengler stops by The Hardball Times and gives an in depth review of the Rays farm system. [The Hardball Times]
